Dac choices

Wyred 4 Sound DAC-1. Asynchronous 24/96 via USB, 24/192 via other inputs. Plenty of reviews out there.

IMO, the Benchmark is a bit thin sounding. Peachtree's DAC's sound ok, but you can do better for the money. The digital link III is a dated design, and I'm not familiar with the DACmini.

I have tried several DACs in the last few months under $1,000. Very recently was the Cambridge Audio DACMagic Plus. I ended up going with this one because of its features and what appeared to my ears to be a more "natural" sound. However, I will caution you that there is currently a production issue that Cambridge has not yet admitted to with this unit. I borrowed one from a local dealer and it was fine. That is the unit that caused me to make the purchase. However, I received my first unit from a much later production date. This unit immediately developed an audible static in the left channel. I then overnighted a unit from Amazon. This one has the same issue, but in addition to that the entire unit makes an audible noise from the chassis! This is without any device plugged in, only the power outlet. I've tried it through a power conditioner and without, in several areas of my house, and these 2 have the same issue. The older unit from my dealer has no trouble at all. So I would recommend the DacMagic Plus, but not until this issue is sorted out.

Next I would recommend the Arcam rDAC. This thing sounded great. It has a much more neutral sound than the DM+, but it only does 24/96 through USB which immediately took it out of the running for me. It has a much more neutral sound than the DM+ which is a more ideal performance characteristic for a DAC, but I still preferred the DM+.

If you really want to spend $1,000 for a DAC though, I would recommend Audio-GD. I have had an NFB-12 for over a year and it has been great. I haven't really found anything that has made me want to replace the NFB-12. In fact, I still have it despite getting the DM+. For under $1,000 you're looking at the new Audio-GD SA-1 or the Audio-GD Reference 5.2. I don't believe you would find yourself wanting to upgrade your DAC for many, many years if you went with one of these two options. I really want to grab that Reference 5.2 before they run out of the exceedingly rare PCM1704UK chips but my funds have been lacking lately.
Edited by Greg121986 - 7/16/12 at 10:33am

Sonically, I don't know how the DacMagic and DacMagic Plus compare, but the original DacMagic doesn't compare to the Wyred unit.

Any specific reason for needing 24/192? (I honestly can't see one ever)..

At this price point, it really depends on what connections you need out of it as opposed to sound quality.

These are all misconceptions and completely untrue. First, DTS Master Audio is something that is multi-channel so you're not going to be able to play it with your 2 channel DAC. DTS Master Audio must be played by a capable multi-channel processor or AVR.

Because "most" music isn't available in 24/192, does that mean that you should ignore it? I really don't think so. If you're going to spend this much on a device, why not pick one that allows you to use all of the features that are currently available? There are plenty of DACs that can do 24/192 and it would be a more wise decision to select one that is capable.

Considering the DACMagic Plus wall wart, this is only an AC transformer and AC-DC rectifier. It is actually better to do this conversion outside of the DAC circuit because it removes any magnetic fields and noise created by the converters from the box where the D/A conversion is actually happening. You will find many devices that use external power supplies or rectifiers in their designs. Something like my personal favorite, the MSB Platinum DAC IV ($10,000 with upgraded external power supply). The wall wart on the DACMagic Plus also has a choke at the DC end to prevent interference on the power cord from entering the DAC. The size of this cable is the correct size for +12VDC which is what the DAC actually runs on. So an external power supply, even a wall wart, is an exercise in noise rejection, not a poor design choice. A better power supply is always the foundation of a great DAC, but you will have to pay more money for something on the higher end of extreme as seen by the $3,500 upgraded power supply from MSB.
Edited by Greg121986 - 7/19/12 at 7:25am

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